1 of 2 | The reusable booster rocket 1076 (L) descends back to Earth after launching a Falcon 9 rocket (R) from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Sunday, April 28th, 2024. Courtesy of SpaceX
April 28 (UPI) — Atop a million pounds of liquid propellant, SpaceX launched its next in a series of Falcon 9 rockets riding a column orange fire and exhaust from Cape Canaveral at 6:08 p.m. EDT Sunday, rumbling out over the Florida Gulf Coast and carrying its next batch of of 23 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.
It’s job done, the reusable fuel cell, also known as the rocket’s first stage booster, descended while being guided by short rocket bursts, then landed precisely in the middle of the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions,” stationed in the Atltantic to receive it just 8 and a half minutes after the cell had spent its fuel and launched the Falcon 9.
“13 times up. 13 times down,” a live NASA commentator said of the rocket booser 1076, the 13th time the reusable booster has sent a Falcon 9 to the edge of space to deploy another cluster of Starlink internet satellites.
This was the 43rd launch of a Falcon 9 rocket in 2024 and the mission, called Starlink 6-54, was the 29th launch of Starlink satellites this year.
A Starlink satellite has a lifespan ofabout five years. SpaceX has said it aims to have ” 42,000 satellites in a “megaconstellation.” Sunday’s deployment will add to the roughly 5,700 satellites already in orbit.
The Sunday launch was the second in under 12 hours at the Cape. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 on Saturday night delivering a cluster of European Space Agency Galileo L12 satellites to orbit. They are an addition to the ESA’s existing 28 satellite constellation.
The Galileo satellites provide global positioning services which are compatible with U.S. GPS systems, but also provide service to to Russia’s global navigation system.
It’s job done, the reusable fuel cell, also known as the rocket’s first stage booster, descended while being guided by short rocket bursts, then landed precisely in the middle of the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions,” stationed in the Atltantic to receive it just 8 and a half minutes after the cell had spent its fuel and launched the Falcon 9.
“13 times up. 13 times down,” a live NASA commentator said of the rocket booser 1076, the 13th time the reusable booster has sent a Falcon 9 to the edge of space to deploy another cluster of Starlink internet satellites.
This was the 43rd launch of a Falcon 9 rocket in 2024 and the mission, called Starlink 6-54, was the 29th launch of Starlink satellites this year.
A Starlink satellite has a lifespan ofabout five years. SpaceX has said it aims to have ” 42,000 satellites in a “megaconstellation.” Sunday’s deployment will add to the roughly 5,700 satellites already in orbit.
The Sunday launch was the second in under 12 hours at the Cape. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 on Saturday night delivering a cluster of European Space Agency Galileo L12 satellites to orbit. They are an addition to the ESA’s existing 28 satellite constellation.
The Galileo satellites provide global positioning services which are compatible with U.S. GPS systems, but also provide service to to Russia’s global navigation system.
